Improvement in steam-traps



G. B. RICHARDS.

STEAM TRAP.

No. 45,437. Patented Dec. 13, 1864.

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UNITED STATES CHARLES B. RICHARDS, OF

PATENT OFFICE.

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-TRAPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patcut No. 45,437, dated December 13, 1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'knownthat I, (J. B. RICHARDS, of the city and county of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Steam-Traps and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

My invention relates to that kind of apparatus for discharging the water of condensation from steam-pipes without waste of steam in which a float, which rises and falls with the level of the water which accumulates in the trap, controls the valve through which the water is discharged. 'Beretofore the aforesaid iioats have usually been in the form of hollow globes, made of thin copper, but these, being subjected to great pressure, unless made i with care and at considerable expense, frequently fail by becoming filled with water.

My said invention, having for its object to produce a cheap, simple, and more reliable; steam-trap, consists in the employment as a float, in connection with the discharge-valve, of a mass of material the specific gravity of l which is nearly equal to or greater than that of water, in combination with a weight, spring, or equivalent counterpoising device, so connected with the heavy float as to partially counteract the weight of the said float and cause it to be acted upon by the water in which it is immersed in a manner as if it were specifically lighter than water, the said float being so connected with the discharge'valve of the trap as to open and close the said valve as the water accumulates or subsides in the trap, substantially as hereinafter clearly set forth.

To enable others skilled in the arts to. make and use my invention, 1 will proceed to a de scription thereof, referring by letters "to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference denote correspondin g parts. 7

Figure 1 shows a top view'ot a steam-trap embodying my invention, the cover of the case being removed so 'as to show the interior of the trap. Figs. 2 Lions of the same, 1, showing, res

g open and jclose and 3 show vertical sectaken at the line A B, Fig. pectively, the discharge-valve d. In these figures, to which a and J) are two solid balls of cast-iron of un equal weights, fixed to the opposite ends of a lever, c, which is hung at a point about midway between the balls upon a fulcrum-pin, d, which is secured to the case 0 of the trap. f is the inlet pipe by which steam and water of condensation enter the trap, and g is the discl'iarge-valve, which is so connected by a rod, h, and pins 1' and k with the lever c that when the ball a. is raised the valve 9 is opened, as shown in Fig. 2, but when the said ball a falls into the position shown in Fig. 1 the valve 9 is tightly closed. so as to prevent the escape of water or steam. The valve g is placed in such aposition, and is so connected with the lever c, that when the valve is closed thewhole or greater part of the ball a will lie above the said valve,'while the whole or greater partot the ball 1: lies below the saidvalve, so that theball b will always be wholly or of the ballsa'andb' are so adjusted that when both balls arev wholly immersed in water, b preponderates, but when the ball I) only is inn mersed in water and the ball a is out of water, 01' nearly so, then a prepondera-tes over 12.

From the foregoingdescriptiou the operation of the apparatus can readily be understood, land is as follows: Before applying the trap the case is filled with water up to the level of the discharge-valve g. When connection is made between the inlet-pipe f and the steam apparatus which is to be drained, the water of condensation flows into the case and fills it until so much of the ball a. is immersed in the water that the bouyant power of the water, acting upon a, allows the preponderatin g force of I) to raise the .ball a, 9, through which the water is discharged, whereby the ball a, becoming less immersed and fol lowing the falling level of the water, gradually closes the valve 9, shutting it entirely before the le as to permit steam to escape through the valve.

Fig. 4 represents a longitudinal vertical 'sec tion of a steam-trap, constructed in a similar manner to that illustrated by Figs. 1,- 2, and 3, except that the float-ball a is formed of a hollow metallic shell filled with some suitable lighter materiaL-such as porcelain-baked in the shell. The counterpoise b is of solid metal.

following description refers,

the immediately;

The-operation of this arrangement is similar nearly'immersedin water. The relative weights thus opening the valve vel of the water falls so low in all respectstoat-hat'of the form of trap already described; but theadvantage of this construction is that a. float-ball of large bulk venience and expense of the great weight of a large'solid metallic float-ball is avoided. If the float-ball be filled with a'substance spes cifically many times lighter thanthe material a of the counter-weight,'it will not be necessary to so arrange the apparatus that the counter weight shall be-always immersed in the water, because, on account of tbebulk of the counterweight and its consequent displacement of water being many times less than that of the float-ball, the variation in its effective weight which would occur by its alternate immersion in steam and water will be so slight as not to materially affect the power of the float-ball.

l have illustrated such an arrangement by Fig. 5, which shows a longitudinal vertical section of a steam-trap in which a is a hollow globular'metallic shell filled with water, and b is the counter-weight, which isof solid iron or lead. 9 is the discharge-valve, which is at the bottom of the trap and-is connected by a rod, h, with apin, 6, located in the lever c (to the opposite ends of which the float and c iunter-weight are attached) at a point between the fulcrum d of said lever and the float a. To insure a constantly uniform weight-of the float a a small tube, 15, leading into theinterior of a and having its open mouth directly nnderthe inlet-pipe f, receives a portion of the waterwhich flows into the trap and conducting it into the float, keeps it full to overflowing,and consequently otflinvariable weight. The operation of this arrangement is similar to that of the formsalready described, the relative weights of the float-ball and counter weight being so adjusted that when the float is immersed in water the counter-Weight preponderates and the float rises, thereby opening the discharge-valve, while the contrary is theefl'ectwhen the water falls so as to leave the float out of water.

I Figs. 6, 7, and 8 illustrate another modification of my invention, Fig. 6 showing a top view of a steam-trap with the cover removed, Figs. 7 and 8 showin g the interior of the same,

half of the case, out by a vertical plane, being removed for that purpose, in which a is a solid float-ball which may be made of material spe-- cifically heavier than water. The lower part, g, of this ball a fits the opening in the upper part of the discharge-pipe g and forms the discharge-valve. The ball a is coun terpoised by a spring, b, one end-of which is attached to the ball and the other to the cover of the trap. The length and tension of the spring b are so adjusted that when the trap contains only suificient water to cover a small part of the ball a, as shown in Fig. 8, the said ball will rest in its seat on the discharge-pipe; but when the trap contains enough water to wholly or nearly cover the ball a, the buoyancy of the water, lessening the preponderat-- ing force of the said ball, will cause the spring to lift the ball a short distance, so that the discharge-opening will be uncovered, but this will again be closed bythe ball when the level of the water declines. Fig. 7 shows the dis charge-pipe wide open.

Fig.9 illustrates a modification of my invention', showing a vertical section of a steam; trap operating on the principle of the one last described, but the float a, instead, of being solid, consists of a metallic shell filled with Water. This is open atthe top, and is kept brimful by receiving through a spout, s, a portion of the water which enters at the inletpipe f. The float a is at the extremity of a, lever which actuates the discharge-valve g by a rod, h. b is a spiral spring, the force of which counterpoises the float a, so as to render it buoyant in the water in which it is immersed.

The advantage of employing a spring to counterpoise the float-is that thereby the weight of the counter-weight maybe avoided and the apparatus thus rendered'less unwieldy. l

Fig. 10 illustrates the last modification of my invention which I shall describe, and shows ia verticahsection of asteam-trap in which a solid float, a, in the form of a metallic slab, is counterpoised through the levers c and c, by a similar slab, b, which is constantly immersed in water, the discharge-valve being actuated through a pin,'i, and rod, h, by the lever '0, to which the float a is attached.

Having thus described several modifications of my invention, 1 do not 'wish to limit my claim to these arrangements only. Nor do I wish to claim the principle of counterpoising a heavy body to cause'it to act as a float, for

this has been done before; but- What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

The employment, in combination with the discharge-valve of a steam-trap and the float by which it is actuated, of a counterpoising Wei ght, or an equivalent therefor, so connected with the said float as to render it more buoyant, substantially in the manner hereinbeforc clearly set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set lny-hand this 13th day of June, 1864. O. B. RICHARDS.

In presence of- CHARLES E. FELLowns, FRANcIs FELLowns. 

